War forces innovation and while WW1 ended 100 years ago ... Instead guns were side-mounted and were either cannons or machine guns. Tanks in WW2 got a big upgrade called the Boiling Vessel.

Many early WWI tanks had their turrets mounted on the side of the vehicle, much like da Vinci's original design, although this approach was gradually dropped in favor of the layout we today ...

Ever wondered what it was like inside a WW1 trench, tank, or WWII’s legendary Lancaster Bomber? These stunning cross-sections reveal the secrets, design, and reality of life and war inside ...

The tank was designed to withstand machine-gun fire ... and if you wanted to see out the side, you looked through steel periscopes, which gave you a sort of translucent outside light, all distorted.

Although armored warfare was still in its infancy, the British Mark IV was one of the more iconic WW1 tanks that were developed ... guns that were mounted on side extensions called sponsons.

It was only in the final stages of the war that they would have a decisive impact on a battle, leading to the impression that WW1 tanks were slow, hard to manoeuvre, and hopelessly unreliable.

The A7V had a main Maxim-Nordenfelt 57 mm gun and six Maxim MG08 machine guns (two on each side and the rear). Oddly, instead of using "new" 57mm guns in the tanks, the Germans scrounged them ...

In 1917, the fourth year of World War One, the British believed ... sponson door to put on one side of the unditching gear but I heard bullets hitting the tank and saw some Boche about 30 yards ...

WW1 tank commander Cecil Sewell was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery in trying to help stranded colleagues at Fremincourt in France in August 1918. Georgie took a ride in a replica Mark ...

The concept of a military tank had been mooted for centuries by visionaries such as Leonardo da Vinci and HG Wells, yet it would take the horrific stalemate of the Western Front in World War One ...